eggs boiled in human urine?
(from http://calorielab.com/news/2011/03/1...e-boiled-eggs/)
In Dongyang, China, urine-boiled eggs are a delicacy. These aren?t your standard hard-boiled or pickled eggs ? these have been soaked and boiled in prepubescent boys? urine. Food vendors collect the urine from local elementary schools; according to chef Lu Ming, the younger the boys, the better their urine. ?The urine is gathered from local schools and the very best comes from boys under 10 years old,? Ming explained to Orange News. ?They pee in buckets and we collect it fresh every day.?
The urine-boiled eggs are first soaked and heated over the stove; next, the eggs are cracked and returned to the urine to simmer with fresh urine. The process takes about a day; each egg sells for 1.50 yuan, or about 23 cents.
Urine-boiled eggs, or tong zi dan (Boy Egg), have been enjoyed in Dongyang for thousands of years, and if Chinese culture officials have their way, we might be seeing these pickled eats in other countries. ?We are having a big export push because we want people outside China to fully appreciate the delicacy of our cuisine,? said Ming.
Why eat urine-boiled eggs? According to Dongyang devotees, they?re healthy. ?Vendors will always tell you [that] after eating [the eggs], you won?t feel sleepy during spring or get a heat stroke during summer,? read a Ministry of Tofu translation of an article from the Qianjiang Evening Post. ?The eggs are delicious and healthy,? claims Ming. ?They stop fevers and can help you concentrate if you?re feeling sluggish or sleepy.?
Not everyone in Dongyang is on the tong zi dan bandwagon. Mr. Li was quoted in the Ministry of Tofu piece saying, ?The smell kills me. I feel like throwing up at the thought of it.? That makes two of us. Huang Jian, the director of the Department of Nephrology at Central Hospital, notes that since urine is human waste, people shouldn?t eat urine-boiled eggs for their health benefits. Jia Suqing, a doctor at the Chinese Medicine Hospital in Jinua, views it as ?unsanitary? but acknowledges that eating the delicacy ?has become a local custom.?
Would you ever try urine-boiled eggs?
(By Marissa Brassfield for CalorieLab)
(from http://calorielab.com/news/2011/03/1...e-boiled-eggs/)
In Dongyang, China, urine-boiled eggs are a delicacy. These aren?t your standard hard-boiled or pickled eggs ? these have been soaked and boiled in prepubescent boys? urine. Food vendors collect the urine from local elementary schools; according to chef Lu Ming, the younger the boys, the better their urine. ?The urine is gathered from local schools and the very best comes from boys under 10 years old,? Ming explained to Orange News. ?They pee in buckets and we collect it fresh every day.?
The urine-boiled eggs are first soaked and heated over the stove; next, the eggs are cracked and returned to the urine to simmer with fresh urine. The process takes about a day; each egg sells for 1.50 yuan, or about 23 cents.
Urine-boiled eggs, or tong zi dan (Boy Egg), have been enjoyed in Dongyang for thousands of years, and if Chinese culture officials have their way, we might be seeing these pickled eats in other countries. ?We are having a big export push because we want people outside China to fully appreciate the delicacy of our cuisine,? said Ming.
Why eat urine-boiled eggs? According to Dongyang devotees, they?re healthy. ?Vendors will always tell you [that] after eating [the eggs], you won?t feel sleepy during spring or get a heat stroke during summer,? read a Ministry of Tofu translation of an article from the Qianjiang Evening Post. ?The eggs are delicious and healthy,? claims Ming. ?They stop fevers and can help you concentrate if you?re feeling sluggish or sleepy.?
Not everyone in Dongyang is on the tong zi dan bandwagon. Mr. Li was quoted in the Ministry of Tofu piece saying, ?The smell kills me. I feel like throwing up at the thought of it.? That makes two of us. Huang Jian, the director of the Department of Nephrology at Central Hospital, notes that since urine is human waste, people shouldn?t eat urine-boiled eggs for their health benefits. Jia Suqing, a doctor at the Chinese Medicine Hospital in Jinua, views it as ?unsanitary? but acknowledges that eating the delicacy ?has become a local custom.?
Would you ever try urine-boiled eggs?
(By Marissa Brassfield for CalorieLab)
Comment